Foreign Studies
by Reizna
Summary: For an academic project, Satoshi is paired up with Risa to fly to America. So he must stay there for two months with his partner. Can they survive this? Or will something unexpected happen? [SxR]
1. Assignment

Disclaimer: I do not own D.N.Angel. I merely own this plot and the Original Characters placed within.

**If you read 'Wish I Could Tell You', you may recognize one of the OCs, who is my personal favorite.**

* * *

It was just a typical day at Azumano Junior High. 

More than half the class had fallen asleep. Niwa Daisuke was trying so hard to not follow their example. Harada Riku was quietly eating some food – something with complex carbohydrates for her lacrosse match later that day. Her younger twin sister was flipping through her yearbook. Meanwhile, Hiwatari Satoshi was the only one paying attention though he really didn't have to.

"Harada-san."

"Which one?" The four who were still awake chorused.

"Oh, excuse me. Harada-imouto, will you please read the last sentence of this paragraph?"

"Hai." Risa answered reluctantly. She stood from her seat, grabbing her text book from underneath her yearbook and blinked. Her mind attempted to translate it, but as she was about to speak, she was saved by the bell.

Taking back her seat, she smiled. Everyone who had been sleeping awoke when the sliding door to their classroom swung open. They all groaned at the sight of Kaseda-Sensei. Risa rolled her eyes. It was bad enough she got picked on for their cooking session during his Home Economics class. Now, the grin on their teacher's face sent a shiver down her spine.

This couldn't be good.

* * *

"Alright, class. You understand that this academic year will end in a matter of four months." 

Kaseda earned groans, which he took as the affirmative answer. Then, he continued. "For the next two months, your class will be the first to take up the foreign studies project."

Then, the students began to yell in protest. Kaseda folded his arms and sighed. He knew this wasn't going to go well unless he mentioned the better advantages of the project. He quieted the class down by bringing out the fake cat claws the last teacher had left behind and scratched the blackboard.

A loud screech filled the room, irritating everybody. The students looked up and fell silent once again.

"Thank you very much. Now, back to the project, we will all be traveling to the country assigned to you and your partner. Yes, you will have a partner, helping you out. That makes a total of two people per presentation."

Traveling? Their eyes lit up and they began to talk amongst themselves. Risa was one of the people who were excited about it. She turned to speak to her older sister and her friend, Ritsuko. She began giggling.

* * *

Hiwatari Satoshi began to take down notes as the teacher began to read out the names of the partners. If he heard correctly, after class, permission slips would be handed out. He let out a sigh. Once more, he would have to fly out of the country for academic purposes. As if his college degree wasn't enough, he had to take foreign studies again. 

"Hiwatari Satoshi. Harada Risa."

"_What_?" Risa shrieked, looking away from her gossiping friend.

Satoshi merely blinked before letting out a low growl.

"Sensei…" They both started.

"No questioning this. It seems your class has an uneven number of both genders. As a result, you two are stuck together."

Risa gaped at Kaseda before looking at Satoshi. Two months with him? Oh god. The fangirls were really going to get her now. Her thoughts then drowned in the squeals of her friends and the ringing bell.

* * *

"What the hell is wrong with the world?" Satoshi mumbled as he walked out of school grounds. His free hand ran through his hair as he turned to his right, leaving the school that way. He felt the stares from his fan club and barely heard the jealous whispers. Great. The rumors were out already. Now, he had no doubt his walking partner heard about it. 

"Oi, _Nii-san_!" She called out.

Satoshi looked up to see her, leaning against the school wall. Had she been born a guy, she would have looked exactly like him in posture. Her right foot which had been pressing against the wall slid down as she straightened up. Her blue hair fell over her matching eyes as she turned around, looking away from her brother.

"Seira, you seem unlike yourself today."

"You think so, brother dearest?" Seira asked.

Her choice of words confirmed it. Something was indeed wrong.

Her Hikari reserve was slipping, but why? Perhaps, it was anger. After all, Seira did have to sit in class with most of her brother's fangirls. If they were smart enough, these girls would try to use Seira to get to her brother, but they were not. Instead, the girls had tried to get him face to face.

The other could have been something short of depression. After all, he carried a permission slip which could allow him to fly out of the country. If their caretaker accepted, Satoshi would have to leave, leaving his 'baby sister' to her lonesome - much like their pasts.

A small smirk left her lips. "Actually, I was just thinking. Sometimes, I look saddened when I think."

Satoshi watched her back as she walked in front of him. Something was up. He could feel it.

* * *

"Why am I stuck with _him_?" 

Riku stared at her sister as she collapsed onto her bed. The red-haired one rolled her eyes. It couldn't be that bad. Risa was paired up with a genius. The project would be easy. That was when the older sister complex kicked in.

Scratch that.

Hiwatari Satoshi was a _guy_. Her sister was a _girl_. _Obviously_! The project was to go overseas and study the country assigned to them. The study period would range to about two months.

This was going to go _oh so well_ with their folks.

Riku grimaced while Risa buried her face in her pillow. A string of dirty curse words left the young Harada's mouth. Riku did not bother to even correct her; Risa had every right to be mad.

"Stuck with who, dear?"

Speak of the devil. It was one half of their parents: their mother.

Risa froze up. Oh God. She really did not want to explain this to her mother. However, as she feared, the truth had to be told. Damn the mother-daughter relationship.

"_Okaa-san_, don't scare me like that." Risa mumbled with the pillow still in her face. She slowly lifted her head and turned over to her stomach. Their mother stood in the doorway, staring at her two daughters.

"What is going on?" She asked.

Riku let out a sigh and they explained everything about the project: how much percent of their grades it was; how long the trip would be; and the most shocking, who Risa's partner was.

At the end of it all, Mrs. Harada gaped at her twin daughters. "Risa, your father and I will have to meet this boy."

Risa felt her cheek muscle twitch as she faked a smile (which did not come out very well). She knew full well that Hiwatari Satoshi was not the sociable type – unless times really called for it. The long-haired brunette hoped he would be when this 'meeting' would take place.

She reached for the phone and dialed Daisuke's number. Of course, her sister's boyfriend would know Satoshi's number.

* * *

"Oi, Seira. Shower's yours." Satoshi announced, stepping out of the bathroom – half-dressed. His sister darted toward him, handing over the phone before dashing into her room to get her things. He raised an eyebrow, wondering what that was about. Shrugging that off, he raised the telephone to his ear after seeing someone was still on the line. 

"Hello?"

"_Hiwatari-kun?_"

"Hai?" The voice was familiar, but he couldn't put a finger on who it belonged to.

"_This is Risa_."

"Harada-san?" He questioned. That was strange. Why would she call? He groaned, suddenly realizing it. It must have been for the project – her parents must have made her. "Let me guess. Your father and your mother wish to see me because of the foreign studies project."

"_Hai_."

He was right. What luck. "Alright then, I'll have to agree to those terms seeing that I do not want to fail this. When and where?"

* * *

Okay, there's chapter one of Foreign Studies. Hope you readers enjoyed it. 

Please read and review.


	2. Meeting The Parents

I tried for some humor in this chapter, but I'm afraid this attempt may have failed. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention this is an AU fic – meaning Dark and Krad are not within their respective tamers. I may have some role for them later, but I haven't gotten that far yet.

**Disclaimer: See chapter one.**

* * *

"Damn you Krad Mousy!" Seira screamed, staring down at some manga she was reading. 

"Who?" Riku raised an eyebrow. Was that girl really okay?

Seira blinked and looked up from her reading. It seemed she had forgotten Riku had come over for the dinner. "Oh, don't mind me. I'm just cursing some random guy from my favorite manga."

"That's weird because that name sounds familiar." Riku pointed out.

The girl with the blue hair chuckled nervously. "Forget I ever said anything, Harada-sempai."

Riku gave her a look before going back to what she was doing. She had forgotten the reason why she had came early anyway. "Okay…your brother should be done by now."

"He should, but our father's telling him to make sure he looks really nice." Seira grumbled.

Riku didn't really understand. It was just a dinner between two families – where a sibling from each family had to stay behind. That fact sucked the most for both these two merely because they would be missing out on the food.

"You know, the parents make it seem like our siblings are getting engaged or something." Riku muttered.

Even though it wasn't true, Seira couldn't help but howl with laughter. It seemed she was the more sociable (or rather, more open) one of her and Satoshi.

"Which we're not." The blue-haired young man answered, coming down from his room while fixing his black tie. He was wearing a clean, white collared shirt and black slacks – which was held in place by a leather belt.

Riku clamped her mouth shut, but they could read her face. It was like they were getting engaged. Well, if the formal clothing, the reservations and the two of two families meant anything, both Risa and Satoshi might as well be.

"We know." Seira grimaced, "We know."

Without another word, he straightened his tie and waved at his sister and her guest. At last, he left.

* * *

In the next few minutes, Satoshi found himself in an awkward position. 

He was sitting in a limousine – across from his adoptive parents who were whispering sweet things to each other. That was the reason he was glad to live in an apartment away from them. Satoshi found himself clearing his throat to get their attention – and to get them to stop.

"Ahem. I didn't expect the dinner meeting to be quite fancy." The teenager noted.

"Well, the public follows my every move as well as your mother's." Kei, Satoshi's adoptive dad, replied.

"And besides, the Haradas are likely to be followed by the press as well." Yuko added as well.

No wonder. It was all about appearances. Satoshi would have let out a sigh of relief, but the whole thing about the press made it seem like he and Risa were getting into an arranged marriage. Damn Harada Riku for pointing that out earlier.

* * *

"Oh my." Risa's mother, Ryoko, exclaimed, blinking at the sight. Risa walked up from behind her, tilting her head to the side. 

"Something wrong, Okaa-san?" But if she had waited, she would have seen exactly what her mother had seen.

"That's the boy, isn't it?" Ryoko pointed out a young man with blue hair. Obviously, that factor made him stand out a lot. People (women) were beginning to stare at either him or his father.

Risa nodded quite grimly. Her mother glanced at her with this mischievous smile on her face. Her daughter's jaw dropped. She couldn't be thinking that.

"He is rather handsome. I must say, you are lucky," Ryoko began, "But you know, I can see you two making a fine match."

"_Mother_! This is not an engagement. Heck, this is only for a school project." She had a feeling this would all get out of hand. And to make her feel all better, her mother was now teasing her. Enjoy the art of horrible sarcasm.

Risa folded her arms over her pink dress. It hugged her figure and showed it off – something her father did not want. It was that, the fact that it showed a little bit of cleavage and the length of the dress (even though it reached her knees). Damn her overprotective father.

* * *

"Is that the girl?" Yuko asked. 

Satoshi nodded, straightening his tie. His adoptive parents were making him nervous. _The_ Hiwatari Satoshi was **never** nervous when it came to things to do for school projects until now.

His father chuckled lightly. "She's quite the catch. Just don't get laid during the trip."

Yuko's jaw dropped as she turned to look at her husband. "_Kei_!"

"I was joking." Kei retorted.

Satoshi could have slapped his forehead if that was not out of character for him. Sure, his father was joking. Since the Azumano genius had gone to graduate from college and came back to live a normal middle school-high school life, he had the freedom of a kind.

Kei had already given the sex lecture – Yuko hadn't just yet. It was more like she did not want to discuss it although Satoshi was more than capable of handling a family on his own already. However, they all knew he wasn't up for that yet.

"Sure, you were." Satoshi mumbled, glad his little sister was nowhere to be found. Seira would have taken advantage of the situation somehow, but as fate would have it, she was given a minor role in the chaos that was yet to come.

The three approached the Haradas, who noticed they were there for some time now.

* * *

"_Ow_." Risa looked up at her mother, holding back a growl. "Okaa-san?" 

"Compliment him." She whispered out of the corner of her mouth.

Risa's eyes widened. The girl was rather shocked. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. Just do it." Ryoko muttered back. Risa hated it when her mother gave her direct orders like that. Actually, she hated that even more because the guy was the coldest genius she'd ever met.

She let out a sigh. "Fine, fine."

* * *

"Kei..." 

"Yes, honey?" Kei turned his head to the side in time to see his wife slip her arm out of his. She gave him a smile.

"You go ahead. I'll speak with Satoshi, you know, as a mother."

Kei nodded. "Right."

At that, he walked off to greet Harada Ryoma. Satoshi then noted that he and his adoptive mother were walking at the same speed. He assumed this wouldn't be too good for him. "Alright, you do know how to act around them, right?"

"Yes, Mother." He answered in the same monotonous tone, but Yuko know he was listening really well.

"Well, I'm going to throw in some more courtesy, especially toward Risa," She paused, "You have to compliment her."

"_What_?" Satoshi spat. His reaction only meant one thing. Yuko's heel found its way onto his left foot and she took a few steps forward. He held back a couple of swear words and his anger – only because Yuko was his so-called "mother". Besides, it would look bad if he did anyway.

Holding it back, he gave her a blank look before heading to join his father.

Complimenting Harada Risa would be a hard task to accomplish – being who he was.

* * *

The dinner was awkward as hell. Of course, the adults were chatting and getting along just fine. It was just the teenagers and their problems. 

For one thing, they had their social standings. Not to be cliché, but Risa was the popular one the girls all wanted to be and all the guys wanted as their girlfriend. Meanwhile, Satoshi was the guy almost all the girls _wanted_ and chased though he appeared to be a total nerd at first. Despite those facts, both of them respectively were the bachelorette and bachelor of their school.

How could they not get along?

* * *

Satoshi gritted his teeth behind a closed mouth. He shot a sideways glare at his mother, whose foot had made sharp contact with his. He knew what the message was. 

Flatter her.

He really didn't want to do it, but unless he wanted a heel stabbing his foot every time, he had to go through with it. That would be much later though.

His eyes returned to his food, but he had failed to notice something. The Hiwatari Satoshi had stolen a glance at Risa – unconsciously.

For someone so observant, how could he not catch himself?

* * *

Risa listened carefully as her father questioned both her classmate and his family. She wished he didn't. After all, not many people had a Commissioner and Museum Curator who were closely followed by the press as their parents. 

Silence followed. It was then when she heard a nudge from the other side.

"Your daughter looks beautiful this evening."

She suddenly blushed upon realizing who had said it. No, that couldn't be right. Satoshi wouldn't have said it of his own accord. One of his parents must have made him. That was the only likely solution.

Risa, however, did not know he meant it – even if it was just a little.

* * *

'It's over.' Satoshi felt somewhat relieved, but something in the back of his mind told him there was one thing left undone. He felt Kei place a kind hand on his shoulder and held back a glare. He had to look civil at least. 

After all, this meeting decided the project's fate. Ridiculously, the assignment cost almost more than half of their grades – making it an obvious requirement for them to pass. But judging from the reactions, all was well until the actual assignment begins.

The four adults got up from their seats suddenly, chattering away – leaving the two classmates with each other's company.

Was it planned or something? Satoshi assumed so, narrowing his gaze, which was not directed toward Risa yet. "So, it seems we're stuck with each other for the next two months. Anything to say to me before all hell breaks loose?"

Risa nodded. "Yes, I hate you."

That was harsh, but a part of him did think he deserved. The other, however, thought the opposite for unknown reasons.

"I know that," He paused, "Anyway, I did mean what I said a while ago."

Satoshi then swore she saw her blush once again.

* * *

I hate this particular meeting since this is horrible (in my opinion). Maybe because my writing style deteriorated. Either that or I ended the chapter quite badly. Damn the laziness. 

And about the statement of "Damn you Krad" in the opening of the chapter. Heh, my sister was like 'if it's an AU, you should have one of the characters reading some manga (which is DNAngel), but switch the character names'. She was being weird and I thought okay, I guess I can do that. And I did.

Please read and review.


	3. Departure

A/N: I've had to re-do this chapter after finishing Blood Bond stage eight because my computer was being retarded and lost the original chapter 3. To add to that, I've had a case of writer's block for a bit.

Ha, I just noticed something. In the last chapter, Risa never complimented Satoshi. My mistake --- she'll do that later. And I'm inserting Mio Hio, an anime-only character of DNAngel. XD

**Disclaimer: See chapter one.**

* * *

The week was over before they knew it. The project was beginning. As our beloved pair start on their way, they anticipate the feeling of annoyance which would linger during the entire non-stop flight to San Francisco, California, in the United States of America.

Of all the countries they could have been given, they had been chosen for the one they seemed to be prepared for. Satoshi, of course, was fluent in English whereas Risa passed with an A minus – although she had a slight accent when she spoke it.

They knew this. They could possibly survive the trip portion, but it was the getting along part that would be the hell of it.

* * *

Risa shifted her weight uncomfortably, watching her twin sister converse with Satoshi's own sister. God, his sister could chatter. This led the younger Harada to wonder why Satoshi was not like that. She mentally shrugged. Perhaps, it was for the best.

She let out a sigh as she turned her head to look outside the car window. She was bored. They could tell.

"Harada Risa-sempai."

Risa glanced at the youngest girl, who had extended her arm. A book was in her hands. The receiver took the paperback book and flipped it open, blinking at what she saw on the pages. The papers were heavily decorated with English characters. Horrified, she looked at Seira.

"W-what? Why'd you give me this?"

"Early birthday present. Besides, it has common phrases, slang and that kind of stuff you can use over there." Seira replied, "Your sister suggested that I give it to you."

Risa glared at Riku. Obviously, it was a joke because Riku had half a percent lower than her twin during the year. This was just a tease. That was all.

"Clever, Seira." Satoshi remarked, chuckling. Seira gave him a smirk which resembled his own. This frightened the Harada twins, who looked at each other and gulped. They were glad the other set of siblings weren't in the same class. One bluenette was enough for them. Risa began to laugh nervously.

Silence came between the four of them once again. Though she was not particularly fond of this, Risa welcomed it like an old friend. Fate had thrown herself into a very awkward position.

There she was, sitting in a car that was heading for the airport. From there, she would be on a plane going to America, where she would be stuck with the Hiwatari Satoshi. His fangirls were going to kill her now --- even though absolutely nothing would happen between them.

After all, Risa did not look at guys with glasses.

* * *

During the ride, Satoshi had been attached to his book, _The Da Vinci Code_ by Dan Brown. He hadn't spoken much since the beginning of the ride since he had been sucked into the plot of the novel. However, he did chuckle a little when Seira had handed over the English book. For some reason, he found that funny.

Moments like that itself were rare. He hoped that more situations would not throw themselves upon Satoshi and his project partner. It was bad enough that he was a guy and she was a girl – both of which were stuck on the expedition together.

He grimaced, recalling the family meeting that occurred just the other night.

_Both of his adoptive parents sat across from Satoshi, who knew what subject would be brought up. He let out a low growl. He predicted what they would say and what he would reply. Everything in his mind was all guesses and the bluenette had presumed correctly. Kei and Yuko were going to talk to him about the Foreign Studies trip._

_Kei cleared his throat. "Satoshi, as you know, you'll be leaving for the States tomorrow with Harada Risa. As my son, I expect you to maintain a proper behavior around her. I know that at your age, hormones tend to rage and -"_

_The dark-haired woman sited beside her husband slammed her hand against the ebony table. "Kei, I doubt he needs the explanation. Satoshi just needs a reminder."_

_Satoshi held back the urge to roll his eyes while his parents were involved in a little spat. He simply leaned back in his seat, watching the exchange of words. He then glanced at his watch. It wouldn't be long until they stopped and reconciled, which they did a minute later. Recovering quickly, they returned their attention toward their adoptive son._

"_What I'm trying to say is…don't get laid."_

_That again? Satoshi scoffed. "I'm not as stupid as most people in my age group, Father."_

A chill ran down his spine. He didn't like the way that conversation went nor would he like what was in store ahead of them. Flipping a page of his novel, he looked up just as the car suddenly stopped. Satoshi dreaded this moment, but it had to happen.

Fate was quite unkind to these two unfortunate souls.

* * *

Without any objection, Satoshi unloaded the car with the help of his sisters while the Harada twins stood there, stunned. Since the blue-haired male was rarely in their P.E. classes, they had never seen his strength until then. The twin girls blinked at each other before glancing back at the other two, who were getting the baggage out without any problem.

"Wow, Hiwatari-kun. You must work out a lot." Riku commented. Risa eyed her sister carefully, cursing the twin bond thing. That statement was exactly why the long-haired twin had been thinking.

Seira laughed, looking at the two of them. "Not really. It runs in the family…apparently. Our Hikari ancestors-"

"Seira, that's enough." Satoshi snapped, glaring at his blood sister, who retorted in silence with another glare which almost mirrored his. The Harada twins stood there utterly confused.

_Hikari_? Risa could have sworn that name popped up in both Art and History lectures, but she had never bothered to listen to them. Judging from Satoshi's little statement; it was a little taboo around other people. Perhaps, it was family issues. Risa guessed and left it at that. She would have plenty of time to ask him about it later – after they had gotten used to each other's presence.

Turning around, she spotted her classmates gathered inside with their bags. It seemed that the teachers had already passed out those tickets and that Riku, Risa and Satoshi were left. Risa let out a sigh, attempting to take up her baggage on her shoulders. It was no surprise when it all fell.

But a bluenette was there to help her to her surprise. Satoshi had taken a few of her bags, balancing it evenly on her suitcase before continuing on. Risa gasped when the load felt a bit lighter. She began to walk when she heard Seira shouting over the car engine and her running footsteps.

"_Nii-san_! _Nii-san_!" Her voice got nearer to Risa while Satoshi got further. Before Risa knew it, Seira was at her side, growling out of anger for her brother.

"Hiwatari-chan, what's wrong?" Risa politely asked.

"Don't call me that," Seira muttered, "I prefer being called Seira."

The blue-haired girl pulled something out of her bag – a black, leather wallet filled with credit cards, cash and identification cards. Seira held it out for Risa to see. "Well, I was supposed to give this to Satoshi, but it slipped my mind. Say, could you hand this to him inside? I have to go. Parents have me on a tight schedule since Sato-nii-san will be gone for a while."

Risa sighed. She might as well since she would be seeing him a lot over the next two months. She held out her free hand, where Seira placed the leather wallet before dashing off into the car that drove off immediately. "_Mou_…this is going to be a long day."

* * *

As soon as he entered, Satoshi earned dirty looks from a few of the guys from his class. He knew why. The reason was approaching from behind. He shook them off and waited for her, who quickly caught up.

"Hiwatari-chan asked-"

Satoshi winced. "You mean Seira-chan, don't you?"

"Ah, hai. Seira-chan," Risa corrected herself, somewhat flustered, "She asked me to give this to you since she forgot to do it herself."

The younger Harada held up a leather wallet before extending her hand to give it to Satoshi. Gracefully, he swiped it from her hands and placed the object in his back right pocket. After that, they continued on to meet the teachers, who would hand them their tickets and inform them of all the rules and regulations. However, Risa and Satoshi would have to get an additional lecture for they were headed to America, whose airport security altered after the events of 9/11.

He knew Risa wasn't that fond of lectures such as these, but she managed to remain awake for these certain ones. She didn't want to fail. Neither did Satoshi himself.

* * *

Three hours later, the eighth-grade students of Azumano Middle had passed through customs check and security before heading for their assigned departure gates. Everyone had left the airport on their flights except for Harada Risa and Hiwatari Satoshi.

The genius beside the 'pretty girl' continued to read his book intently. Risa continued to sip on her hot chocolate, keeping to herself. Satoshi could tell that she was missing her friends already. He said nothing to her but continued reading.

* * *

Risa's gaze left the glass windows of the opposite side while she took another slip of her hot chocolate. She winced, noticing she had burnt her tongue. She had drunk it too fast. She bit her lip and looked up, putting the drink down for a moment. While she did, she heard a few giggles. She could only guess.

New fangirls. Just great.

"Oh em gee, did you see that guy with the blue hair? He's like _so_ totally hot."

"You saw him too?! I wonder where he's going."

"Ditching school, obviously."

"Wait, like who's that girl next to him?"

"His…girlfriend?"

"Why are the totally hot guys _always_ taken?!"

With her lower lip twitching, Risa immediately stopped listening in to that conversation. No way in hell would she ever be his girlfriend. He was just so out-of-reach anyway. Besides, she did not look at guys with glasses. Must she repeat that thought once again?

She made a face. She did not like Hiwatari Satoshi that way. Possibly, they could be friends and nothing more than that, right?

"Possibly, but they could be like…running away."

Risa clenched her fist.

"You mean like eloping?"

That was clearly not the case. Before Risa knew it, her fist became tighter. She hated how that conversation gotten louder when she had blocked it out the first time.

"Like duh, but I like totally think they look so cute together. Isn't that total sweetness?" That voice seemed familiar to Risa. It must have been the gaijin accent on that girl. Then, it dawned to her. She turned her head to see a group of girls with a certain blonde in the midst of them.

The brunette gasped. "Hio Mio-san?"

The blonde girl then looked away from her friends to see her there. "Oh my god, it's one of the Harada Sisters," She paused, looking past Risa. Mio smirked. "Ah, so the boy genius who was crushing on Daisuke's here with you."

"I was not crushing on Niwa." Satoshi retorted from behind Risa. The coldness of his voice sent a shiver down Risa's spine. That did not sound right.

"Hiwatari-kun's just a little odd. Remember, Hio-san?" Risa laughed nervously. She guessed some things hadn't changed from after Mio transferred out of Azumano Middle.

Mio giggled. "It's been like so long, hasn't it?"

Risa nodded. "Yeah, kinda."

The blonde smiled before looking between the pair before her. Her girls were watching keenly, causing Risa to feel a bit uneasy. "So what are you two like doing here?"

"The school came up with a Foreign Studies project and I'm stuck with him," Risa flicked her hair over her shoulder. Mio laughed, opening her mouth to speak when an announcement came on the intercom.

"_Flight A15 for San Francisco, America. Now boarding_. _Flight A15 for San Francisco, America. Now boarding._"

"Huh?" Risa blinked as she heard her partner get up, gathering what was left of their luggage and grabbed Risa's wrist in the process. A faint blush grew on her cheeks and Mio saw this, placing a finger on her own lips. She wouldn't tell.

"Sorry, Hio-san. I have to go. It was nice to see you again." Risa said as Satoshi rushed her. The blonde girl waved as the pair disappeared into the sea of people waiting to get on the plane for America.

"Yeah, like totally. Hope we see each other again." Mio said, leaning back on her seat. Her finger still remained on her lips as she saw the last of the blue head and the brunette. Her lady friends had no idea what she was thinking at the moment, but they had a feeling she was up to something.

* * *

Risa let out a sigh, looking down at her lap. The English book was there right below the seatbelt she had been required to put on before the place took off. She leaned to her right side as her eyes left for what was outside the window. Satoshi had been kind enough to let her take his original seat, knowing full well she was quite the daydreamer.

"And so it begins." Satoshi mumbled.

"Yeah…" Risa said absent-mindedly. Her mind wandered off when silence fell once again. Only to be brought back when she winced because her ears popped. Attempting to ignore the pain, she pulled out some spearmint gum and offered some to Satoshi, who took one gladly. Risa gave him a small smile, glad that she was not the only one suffering.

Taking her own piece, she had unwrapped the gum carefully and popped it into her mouth, chewing immediately. For some odd reason, this little trick worked like her parents had said once before. Hiding the gum wrapper in her pocket, she returned to her day-dreaming.

Shortly afterward, she drifted off into a deep sleep.

* * *

Satoshi was unable to sleep so he kept on reading _The Da Vinci Code_. He already knew a couple of hours had passed. Quietly, he kept a careful watch on Risa, who slept peacefully. People had passed by their side of the aisle and saw this, smiling at the two. Satoshi knew what they had thought and quickly shook his head.

It was not like that. They were just classmates traveling for a project. It was nothing more than that. It couldn't be anything more. That the blue-haired young man knew so well.

It was then when he heard her stir. He ignored this until he felt something against his shoulder. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her head leaning against his shoulder. He wanted to curse aloud, but that would make it even more awkward if she had woken up and found herself in that position. He let out a sigh.

He could not move her. He just had to deal with the awkwardness. After all, the sooner he got rid of it, the sooner they could possibly work together.

* * *

Still drowsy, Risa slowly cracked open her eyes. A scent of fresh soap intoxicated her. She must have still been dreaming because she was leaning on Hiwatari, who had also fallen asleep. If she wasn't so tired, she would have moved away in shock. However, Risa had no energy whatsoever to move that much.

She looked up at Satoshi's face. He looked calm as he slept. She could have sworn she felt herself smile at the sight. Her right hand suddenly reached for his glasses, slipped them off and placed them on the closed book on his lap. Her smile faded as she drifted to sleep again, thinking that was just no more than a dream.

* * *

Wah, sorry this chapter took so long. XD I have to thank my little sister for helping me with the valley girl talk between Mio and her friends. I had a hard time doing that by myself. So thank you, i.luv.yooh.more.than.cupcakes (that's her name on here).

Readers, hoped you liked this chapter. Please read and review.


	4. Continuation of Boredom

**Disclaimer: See chapter one.**

* * *

They had every right to be tired and to be asleep. However, they had a right called privacy – something a few passengers failed to remember. It was up to a random stewardess onboard to whisk away the onlookers. That tall, blonde woman shooed away the fifth teenage girl from the sleeping duo with blue and brown hair. 

Glancing at them, she smiled. "What a cute couple though."

Then, the stewardess walked away to attend some of the other passengers, leaving behind two plastic cups half-filled with ice and two bottled waters. Those two would need it when they woke up.

* * *

A low growl left the back of Satoshi's throat when he cracked open his blue orbs. Slowly, his vision began to return. He cursed his low blood pressure for it took him a while to focus right – so he sat there, looking dazed. It was only then when he had noticed that something seemed to be leaning against him. No, something was placed on his shoulder. 

He glanced at his side to see a slightly visible figure of Risa with her head tilted on her very shoulder. His cheeks burned with a slight red color before he looked away.

How could he have forgotten?

She had fallen asleep in that position _and_ he had let her!

"That could have been an uber sweet move, Hiwatari." Someone commented from the aisle. Hiding the little blush, a string of profanity left his lips as he turned to see Mio Hio standing there, smiling. However, unlike at the airport, she was standing there without her little posse.

How strange for her to be alone.

"Hio-san, it's not what it looks like," Satoshi answered, grabbing his glasses from on top of his book. His voice was as cold as ever. "Harada-san just didn't like the airplane pillow."

Who wouldn't like the pillow? Even Satoshi thought it was uncomfortable by just holding it.

The blonde Japanese-American folded her arms and plopped down onto the open seat next to Satoshi. She was grinning and the bluenette hated it. Things would never change with Mio Hio. He was beginning to wish she would mature faster. Sadly, his wish was not granted at all and Mio resumed to taunting him.

"Jeez, don't you have any hormones?" Mio asked, eyeing the two, "You look totally unaffected. I mean, it's the younger Harada. Most guys would be like kill to be in your shoes right now."

"Didn't Harada-san remind you that I was a bit unusual?"

It was true. Hiwatari Satoshi wasn't like normal Middle School guys. It wasn't his fault. It wasn't his adoptive father's fault. It was his family legacy – he just grew up that way. The ways of Risa and Mio's kind were completely foreign to him.

Through the silence, he knew Mio pretended not to hear that. That girl just wanted to taunt someone. He knew that much about her, but why was he the victim this time? The last time, the subject had been the Older Harada and Daisuke. Then, his mind drifted to a statement he had heard earlier.

The blonde American had thought that he and Risa looked cute together. He rolled his eyes, figuring it out. "And your statement of Risa and I looking adorable together does not change a thing."

He swore he saw her raise an eyebrow. Curiosity was going to kill the cat. Not literally in Mio's case, but girls were rather

* * *

Risa groaned. Her hand flew up to her right temple as she lifted her head from Satoshi's shoulder. She had awaked upon hearing an exchange of words – in time to hear her partner say "And your statement of Risa and I looking adorable together does not change a thing." 

"Damn right, it doesn't." Risa agreed, tugging at the English book the little Hiwatari handed to her.

She felt flustered at the thought of Mio's statement. She partially blamed --- _No_! She blamed Hiwatari entirely for reminding her. In an attempt to shove the idea out of her head, Risa managed to open the book and flipped through the first chapter.

"All this is grammar review." She mumbled, "Except I can never get the words with l's in them. I always seem to be pronouncing them as r's."

She made a face as she heard the conversation on her left side transaction from Japanese to fluent English. Mio had an excuse of living in the States so it was normal. But for Satoshi, Risa wanted to murder him. "Damn you two and your non-Japlish accents."

From then on, her nose was stuck in a boring, foreign language study book – which was a joke from Satoshi's little sister. At least, she could mess around a little when it was not a serious moment. She let out a sigh.

Satoshi. Why did it have to be Satoshi of all people? Risa was still asking herself that when it came down to the project. The two months hadn't officially started, but she was sick of it already.

She was not going to last. Risa just knew it.

* * *

**Somewhere in America…**

"Hey Skye, are you sure Mio's on her way back?" A dark-haired young man asked.

The girl, addressed as Skye, was a head and a half shorter than the guy and had her long, brown hair with slightly blond highlights tied back. She was dressed in a white shirt which depicted the one and only Mickey Mouse and blue jeans. Her black lined with white shoes were flat and did nothing to contribute to her height.

Her dark brown, almost black eyes met violet ones. She sighed.

"Yeah, Dark. That's what she told me this morning before she boarded the plane in Japan," Skye answered, "And my dad also said those foreign students who're supposed to stay with me are on their way too."

Dark scratched the back of his head before ruffling his dark hair. He leaned against the front door of his friend's house, looking cool in his black tee-shirt and matching pants with a chain hanging down from the belt. Skye wanted to laugh at this, but something told her not to. So she kept a straight face as she spoke again.

"Finally, you can stop acting emo when you see her. Good grief, I hate it when I see you like this." She mumbled, taking her seat on the porch. Like Dark, her eyes were to the skies.

"Yeah, I missed her insanity like hell." Dark grinned briefly before it faded, "Wish that plane could get here faster."

Skye lifted an eyebrow. Patience was a virtue Dark had always told her, but why was he not following his own advice? The girl then gasped when it hit her like a rock. "YOU LIKE MIO!"

Dark merely looked at her, giving her the retarded stabbing motion. "Correction. Mio and I date. Are you that clueless?"

Her jaw dropped. "That wasn't it. You never told me anything since your trip to Hawaii! And Mio might have almost told me before being whisked away to Japan _again_!"

Shutting her mouth, she looked away from her friend, hoping the exchange friends would be better than an emo Dark. They had better be, Skye hoped as she attempted to put her headphones on. The result was Dark snatching them along with her ipod.

"Dark Damnit Mousy! I'm telling Mio when she gets here!" Skye shouted as he ran off, "_Kleptomaniac_!"

* * *

**Back on the plane…**

After about possibly six hours of sleep and one hour of being pestered by Mio plus English review, they were seriously bored. Risa was complaining to Mio after switching seats with Satoshi. Mio had been saying 'hi' to every person who had passed her going either up or down the aisle. Meanwhile, Satoshi was sitting near the window, looking over the project criteria for the thousandth time (according to Risa).

"Hey Harada, what's Hiwatari reading?" Mio asked out of curiosity; also a quick attempt to quiet Risa from whining about having nothing to do. This was not the first time this had occurred. Due to that very fact, there was a groan from Risa.

"I told you already. It's the project outline. We're supposed to fill in the blanks…" She trailed off and looked at her partner for the rest of the answer.

"More like compose some sort of multi-media presentation about the location, which happens to be around San Francisco, California of the United States." Satoshi fired back. Obviously, he was irritated.

"Sounds interesting. If you could work on it, it would beat being this bored." Mio interjected loudly, pulling out her ipod from her pocket. She slipped on one headphone before handing one to Risa, who eagerly took it to ease the boredom. However, it was Mio who had total control over the selection of songs.

"Hmm…no you've heard a lot of J-pop. Let's listen to some American Alternative." Mio mumbled to herself, looking through her library of songs in her little mp3 device. Then, the sound of guitar strings following with a song echoed into their ears. Risa intently listened while Mio seemed to softly sing the lyrics subconsciously to herself.

_"Ah yes, but what a shame, _

_What a shame, _

_The poor groom's bride is a whore." _

_I chimed in with a "Haven't you people ever heard of closing the god damn door?!"  
No, it's much better to face these kinds of things with a sense of poise and rationality.  
I chimed in "Haven't you people ever heard of closing the god damn door?!"  
No, it's much better to face these kinds of things with a sense of hope."_

"Hio-san, your language utterly disgusts me. I can see why Niwa preferred Harada-san." Satoshi interrupted quickly.

Although she coughed out a laugh, Risa hid her impulse to strangle him. It was only because she didn't know which 'Harada' he was referring to. It was true that Daisuke had a crush on Risa herself before crushing on her twin sister. At least, his hormones didn't rage like others.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me. I do live around San Francisco." Mio mumbled absentmindedly, making Risa look at her blankly. How the hell would one forget where they live?

"I wouldn't mind showing you around SF then." She smiled. Still, Risa was worried over the blonde. The thought of forgetting where one lived still puzzled her and took a while to shake it out of her mind. It was then when the brunette saw Mio grinning a little more than usual.

It was as if Mio Hio knew something they didn't.

Risa didn't like it. Satoshi noticed and quietly wrote it down in his little, black book of observations.

* * *

Risa held her breath as she clutched someone's arm for her dear life. They were going to land and she was frightened. Their teachers had mentioned things about terrorists hijacking planes. 

"Harada-san, there's no need to cling to my arm like that. There aren't any terrorists on this place. Trust me." His cool tone caused a blush to creep onto her face while she drew away from Satoshi, embarrassed as ever. Mio, who was still seated next to Risa, giggled, but said nothing. The bluenette shot a glare at the gaijin, who merely stuck her tongue out at him.

"Uh…yeah, sorry, Hiwatari-kun." Risa apologized, tucking a loose strand of her hair back. She gave both of them a small smile before popping a piece of gum into her mouth. Satoshi then looked over them to see if their seatbeats were on, which they were and sat back.

They would be landing in America soon enough with a problem called jet lag to worry about.

* * *

If you can guess what the song Mio Hio was singing, I'll add a little fluff in the next chapter. XD In case you didn't figure it out, this chapter is somewhat of a filler to keep the whole plane trip going. It was so freakin' hard to write this certain part. I really hope the effort doesn't go to waste. Hope you liked this chapter (at least a little). 

Please read and review.


	5. Arrival

**Disclaimer: See Chapter one.**

Sorry I haven't updated in so long. Writer's block hurts so I'm sorry that this is so short.

* * *

Risa could not believe it. She let out a squeal of delight as soon as they step off the ramp and out of the flight gate. Mio soon joined her and Satoshi followed wordlessly, walking into a scene which involved a rapid exchange of Japanese words between the two girls.

"Oh my god, we're here!"

Those words were the only ones he managed to change without any effort to strain his hearing. He let out a sigh, shaking his head, pulling out what was left of his ticket. Apparently, they had landed at the San Francisco Airport with no time to spare. Their flight was at least a couple hours late and they couldn't waste time sight-seeing.

Risa and Satoshi had to find their host family, if they hadn't given up already.

"_Mio_!" A teenage boy -- no, actually a young man with dyed purple hair yelled across the arrival terminal. At the sound of the voice, Mio flushed instantly and Risa whipped her head to see who it was before blushing herself.

He was hot.

"Mio-chan, who is that?" Risa asked in her native tongue.

"DAMNIT DARK! DON'T RUN OFF BY YOURSELF AGAIN!" A second voice shrieked in English, drawing attention on the other side. The bluenette behind the two girls stopped at mid-step. His face grew even paler than it was before. Before the girls could notice this, Satoshi slipped back into his reserve.

"_Mon Dieu, aidez-moi, s'il vous plait_." He mumbled in French. But he really didn't believe in God. It was worth the try, wasn't it?

"Mi-" Dark stopped in mid-sentence when his eyes rested on the bluenette. His dark eyes widened at the sight, forgetting that Mio was standing right there in front of him. "This is bull. You're the exchange student?!"

"Half, dear cousin." Satoshi replied nonchalantly.

An awkward silence crept between the group. Risa was the first to recover from the shock. She looked between Satoshi and the handsome boy called Dark. There was some facial resemblance and the odd hair colors among the two boys. "Is that hair natural?" She found herself asking aloud.

The girl who had chased Dark through the terminal finally reached them as soon as Mio burst out laughing. The girl stared at laughing Mio before she started giggling herself. Dark however looked annoyed as he was lured into a death glare match with the bluenette.

"So I see you've met the foreign exchange students," The girl laughed, "I'm Skye. You've already met Dark and Mio."

Risa nodded. Time to practice her English. Smiling, she replied, "I'm Risa and that's Satoshi-"

"That's Hiwatari to you." Satoshi interjected in flawless English. "Pleasure to meet you."

The way he said it made things sound like a pain. Skye blinked at this while the laughter around them died down slowly. Mio was already walking away with Dark, hand-in-hand. Watching them, Risa sighed, wondering when she'd meet a guy like that. Skye shook her head and shrugged her shoulders.

"Welcome to the U.S."


End file.
